Minneapolis ? Nine months after the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge, a special $38 million state fund is being created to help compensate the victims of the Aug. 1 disaster.

Amid hugs, handshakes and smiles, legislators announced agreement Friday on a proposal that would put a $400,000 limit on each individual award but set aside further money for those “extraordinarily impacted” by the tragedy. Gov. Tim Pawlenty quickly endorsed the compromise, which is expected to win formal approval at the Legislature as early as Monday.

For the victims, the announcement ended months of waiting as legislators debated competing compensation proposals and – for some – erased a feeling that more attention was being devoted to the bridge than to its victims. Thirteen people died in the collapse, and more than 100 of the 183 who were on the bridge were injured.